LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, 



Cha/j.L .. 
SheUf ..^U!^ 

UNITED STATES OF AMEEIOa. 



THE 

DISCOVERIES 

OF 

JOHN LEDERER, 

In three several Marches from Virffima to the 

"Weft of ('((roJ'oHt, ;iii(I other parts of* the 

Continent: 

Be,:iiin in Marc/i. K*!)!), and ended in September, 

ir,70, 

TOGETHER WITH 

A General Map of the whole Territory which he 

traverfed. 

Collected and Tranflated out of Latine from his 
Difcourfe and Writinas, 

By Sir mUiam Ihlhoi, Baronet. 

Sed nos imvicnfiim fpatiis coiifccimns (Equor, El jam tcinpiis 
cquuiiii fimiantia folvcrc col/a. 

Vir^ Croig. 



Twenty copies printed 
in quarto by tlie Walker, 
Evans & Cogfwell Co., 
Charlefton,S.C., 1891, for 




From a copy of the 
original edition, London, 
printed by -1. C. tor Sam- 
uel Heyrh-k, at Grays- 
Inn-gate in Holborn, 
\£l'2, in the Harvard 
College Library. 



No.^ 




.^^tz^ 



s5» 




To the Rujld Honourable Anthony, Lord Ashley, 
Baron Ashley, of Wimborn, St. GUes<, Chan- 
cellor of His Majesties Exchequer, Under- 
Treasurer of Enfjland, one of the Lords Com- 
mijfioners of His Majesties Treasury, one of 
the Lords of His Most Honoural)le Privie 
Council and of the Lords Proprietors of Car- 
olina : 

.)/// Lord, 

FROM this difcourse it is clear that the long- 
lodked lor difeovery of the Lidian Sea 
does nearly ajtproach : and Carolina, out ot her 
hai)i)y experience of your Lordlhips' sueeefs in 
great undertakings, i)resunies that the acconi- 
plishnient of this glorious Designe is referred for 
her. In order to which, the Apalatiran Moun- 
tains (though like the i)rodigious wall that di- 
vides CJiina and Tartarij, they deny Virf/inia 
passage into the West Continent (lto()]> to your 
Lordlhip's Dominions, and lay open a prosjject 
into unlimited Empires. Euipires that will here- 
after be ambitious of subjection to th;it noble 



4 John Led^rer^s Journey 

Govermuent which by your Lordfhii)'s deep ^vis- 
dom and providence first projected, is now estab- 
lished in Carolina ; for it will appear that she 
flourishes more by the influence of that, than the 
advantages fhe derives from her Climate and 
Soyl, which yet do render her the Beauty and 
envy of North America. That all her glories 
fhould be seen in this draught, is not reasonably 
to be expected, since the fate to my Author but 
once, and then too with a side face ; and there- 
fore I must own that it was never by him de- 
signed for the Press, but publifhed by me, out of 
no other ambition than that of manifefting to the 
world, that I am, 

Mt/ Lord, 
Your LordJIiqj's moji humble and 

obedient ferv ant, 
William Talbot. 



From Mrginia through the Carolbuis. o 



To The Reader. 

THAT a J}r<m<i€r JJiould jyresume {though 
with Sir AVilliinii Berkly's Conuniysiofi to 
go into tJioxe parts of the American Continent 
where Englislimen never had been, and ichither 
fome refused to aroompaug him, was, in A'irginia 
lo(tk"d on a.s so great an insolence, that our 
7)are//er at his return, inftead of welconi ond 
applaufe, met nothing but Affronts, and Re- 
proaches : for indeed it wa.s their part, ilait for- 
sook him in the Erpedition. to procure him dis- 
credit th(tt icfts o witne/s to theirs . Therefore no 
induftrg was wanting to prepfire men with a 
prejudice against him. and this their malice im- 
proved to fuch a general Animositg. that he was 
not fafe in Virginia from the outrage of the peo- 
ple, drawn into a per/wasion, that the Publick 
Levy of that gear, went all to the expence of J^iis 
Vagaries. Forced hg this storm into MarvJ' ^id, 
he became known to me, though then ill-aff.cted to 
the Man. tig the stories that went about of him. 
Neverthele/s Jinding him, contrary to my e.rpecta- 
tion, a modeft inge?iious person, & a pretty 
Scholar. J thought it common justice to give him 
an occafion of vindicating him/elf from what I 
had heard of him : which trulg he did with so 
convincing Reafon and circumjtance, as quite 
aboli/Jted thofe former imprejjions in me. and 
•1 



6 John Ledenrs Journetj 

made me defire f/ri.s account of h's fft/rc/s, inZ/ic// 
here tjoii liavc fa'dJifidhj rendered oid of L<d'ine 
from Ids own wi'dha/s and Di/courfe, with an 
entire Maj) <f the Tcrrdorj/ he trarcrfed, copied 
from his own hand. All the/c T hacf (unnpared 
irith Indian h'elations of tho/t ports [tlanajh I 
never met with an Indian that had foUowed a 
Southioe/t Courfc so far as this (icraian) and 
finding them agree, I thought the Printing of 
the/e Papers was no injurg to the Author, and 
nuifht prove a Service to the Pntdick. 

\\'i],LiAM Taldot. 




THK 



Discoveries of John Lederer, 

From Viroinia to t](c, vx'Jf of Qi\vo\\\\\\,<i)ul olJnn- 
parts of the ('out intent. 

A GE.MiRAL AXD BRIEF ACCOUNT OF THE 
XORTH AMERICAN CONTINENT. 



N 



OKTH, as well as So^ith Amer>ea, iiuiv be 
divided into three Regions : the Fhits. the 
Highhmds. and the Mountains. The Fhits, (in 
Indian. Aldynt) is the teiritorv lying between 
the Ealteni Coaft and the fulls of the great 
Rivers, that there run into the Athntick ocean, 
in extent generally taken Ninety miles. The 
Highlands (in Indian, Ahkontfchuek) begin at 
thofe falls and determine at the foot of the great 
ridge of Mountains that run thorow the midft of 
this Continent. Northeast and Southwest, called 
by tlie Spaniards Ajtalatai, from the Nation 
Apahikin : and by the Indians, Pamotinck. Ac- 
cording to the l)elt of my obfervation and con- 
jecture they lie parallel to the Athint'irk Sea 
coast, that bearing from ''V/z/^/r/r/ toCape Florida, 
Northealt and Southweit, and then falling otl' 
due West as the Momitains do at Sara: but hero 



8 John Ltderer's Journey 

they take the name of Simla : Sura in the War- 
renunncook dialect being Sasa or Sua It/. 

The Flats, or Ahkynt. are l\v former writers 
made s<i well kuo^\Ti to Christendom, that I will 
not ftoj* the Header here with an unuecefsary 
defcrijttion of them, but lliall < mely fay that by the 
raukuefs of the Soyl. and salt moifmes* of the 
air. daily difcoverie? of Fish shells three fathoms 
deep in the earth, and Indian tradition : thefe 
parts are .suppofed some ages past to have been 
uuder the fea. 

The Highlands (or AhkonUhwk) though imder 
the same parallels, are happie notwithstanding 
in a more temperate and healthful air. The 
sn'ound is overirrown with underwood in mauv 
places, and that s<» perplext and interwoven with 
vines, that who travels here muft sometimes 
cut through his way. These thickets harbour 
all soits of beafts of prey, as Wolves. Panthers. 
Leopards. Lions. «S:c.. (which are neither so large 
nor so fierce as those of As'tn and Africa i and 
small vermine". as "Wilde Cats. Foxes and 
Racoons. These paits were formerly possessed 
by the Tarci. alias Doyi. but they are extinct, 
and the Indians now feated here, are distiu- 
tinguished into the several Nations of Mahoc. 
Xuntaneuck. alias Xuntaly. Xahys.<an. Sapon. 
Manayofj. Manfjoack, Akenatzy, and Monakm. 
6lC. One language is common to them all. 
thouL'h thev differ in dialects. The parts inhab 



From Mrffin'ta through the CaroUnas. 9 

ited here are pleasant and fruitful, because 
cleared of wood, and laid ojjen to the fun. The 
valleys feed numerous herds of Deer and Elks 
larger than oxen : thefe valleys they call ."v^- 
i«/^fip. beins: Marish grounds at the f<X)t of the 
Apahtcei. and yearly laid under water in the be- 
ginning of Summer by floods of melted fnow 
falline down fi-om the Mountains. 

The Apahitffrfin Mountains, called in Indian 
Parnotinrk. (or the oiiffine of the Indians) are 
l»arreu rocks, and therefore defeited by allliWu^ 
creatures l)ut Beai-s. who cave in the hollow 
Cliffs. Yet do thefe Mountains shoot out to the 
Eastward great promontories of rich land, 
known by the high and spreading trees which 
they bear : thefe promontories, becaufe lower 
than the main ridge, are called by the Indians 
Totij- Pitmothok (alias Aquati.) To the North 
east the Mountains rise higher : and at Sttru thev 
sink so low that they are eafily pafsed over, but 
here (as was said before) they chansre their 
coui-fe and name, running due West and beinsr 
called Sualy : now the Sualian Mountains rise 
higher and higher Westward. 

(if the Manners and Cu/tonns of the Indian.< In- 
hahiting the We/fern jxtrfs of Carohna ond 
Virginia. 

The Indians now seated in thefe parts are 

none of thofe which the Ensrhsh removed from 
3 



10 John Lederer's Journey 

Yirgmia, but a people driven by the enemy 
from the Northweft, and invited to fit down 
here by an Oracle above four hundred years 
fince, as they pretend for the ancient inhabitants 
of Virginia were far more rude and barbarous, 
feeding only upon raw flesh and fish, until thefe 
taught them to plant corn, and (hewed them the 
use of it. 

But before I treat of their ancient Manners 
and Customs, it is necefsary I (bould (bow by 
what means the knowledge of them hath been 
conveyed from former ages to polterity. Three 
ways they supply their want of Letters : first, by 
Counters, secondly by Emblems or Hieroglyph- 
icks, thirdly by Tradition delivered in long tales 
from father to son, which being children they 
are made to learn by rote. For counters, they 
ufe either Pebbles, or Ibort scantlings of ftraw or 
reeds. Where a Battel has been fought, or a 
colony feated, they raise a small Pyramid of 
these stones, confiding of the number (lain or 
tranfplanted. Their reeds and ftraws ferve them 
in Religious Ceremonies for they lay them 
orderly in a circle when they prepare for de- 
votion or sacrifice ; and that performed, the 
Circle remains still ; for it is sacrilege to disturb 
or to touch it, the dispofition and forting of the 
ftraws and reeds (hew what kind of I'ites have 
there been celebrated, as Invocation, Sacrifice, 
Burial, &c. 



From Virginia through the Carolina^. 11 

The faculties of the ininde and body they 
commonly exprefs by Eml)lems. By the figure 
of a Stag, they imply S^viftness ; by that of a 
Serpent, wrath ; of a Lion, courage : of a Dog, 
fidelity : by a fwan they signifie the EngVinh, al- 
luding to their complexion and flight over the 
Sea. 

An account of Time, and other things, they 
keep on a ftring or leather thong tied in knots 
of feveral colours. I took particular notice of 
fmall wheels ferving for this purpose amongft 
the Oenocks. becaufe I have heard that the 
Mexicans ufe the fame. Every nation gives, his 
particular Enfigne or arms : The Sasffuesahan- 
avgh a Tarapine, or fmall Tortoife : the Aken- 
(itzifK a Serpent ; the Xahgs.sanes three Arrows, 
<N:c. In this they likewife agree with the Mex- 
ican Indians. Vid. Jos. a Costa. 

They worlhip one God, Creator of all things, 
whom some call Okm'. others Mannith : to him 
alone the Highpriefl, or Periku. offers sacrifice, 
and yet they believe he has no regard to sub- 
lunary affairs, but commits the Government of 
Mankinde to leffer Deities, as Quiacosowjh and 
Tagkanymugh, that is, good and evil Spirits : to 
thefe the inferior Priefts pay their devotion and 
Sacrifice, at which they make recitals, to a la- 
mentable tune, of the great things done by their 
Ancestors. 

From four women, viz; Pash, ^epoy. Askarin 



12 John Lederers Journei/ 

and Maraskar'tit. they derive the Race of Man- 

kiude : which they therefore ilivide iuto tour 

Tribes, diltiuguilhed imder thofe feveral names- ^ 

They very rehgiously obferve the degrees of 

marriage, which they Hmit uot to diltauce of 

kindred, but ditfereuce of tribes, which are 

continued in the ilTue of the female: now for 

two of the fame tribe to match is abhorred as 

incest and punished with great feverity. 

Their places of Biu-ial they divide into four 
quartei"S. affigning to eveiy Tribe one : for. to 
mingle their bodies, even when dead, they hold 
wicked and ominous. They commonly wrap 
up the corps in beafts" skins, and bury with it 
Provifion and Household I'tuff for its ufe in the 
other world. When their great men die they 
likewife flay pnfoners of war to attend them. 
Thev believe the tranfmicrration of foifls : for 
the Angry they fay is poffeft with the spirit of a 
ferpent : the Bloudy with that of a Wolf: the 
Timorous of a Deer: the Faithfifl. of a Dog, 
etc.. and therefore they are figured by thefe 
Emblems. 

Elizium, or the abode of their leffer Deities, 
they place beyond the Mountains and Indian 
Ocean. 

Though they want thofe means of Improving 
Humane Reason, which they ufe of Letters 
affords us: let us not therefore conclude them 
whollv deftitute of Learnincf and Science- : for bv 



From Yirgooo tkrougJi the CaroVma.^. 13 

thefe little heli>s which they have found, many 
of them advance their natural underltaudings to 
s:reat knowledge in Physick, Rhetorick and 
Policie of Government : for I have been prel'ent 
at feveral of my Confultations and Debates, and 
to mv admiration have heard fome of their 
Seniors deliver themselves with as much judge- 
ment and Eloquence as I ibould have expected 
from men of Civil education and literature. 




The First Expedition 

From the head of Pamceonoook. alias York 
River (due West) to the top of the Apalaken 
Mountains. 

Upon the ninth of March, 1GG9, (with three 
Indians whofe names were Magtakunk, Hopofto- 
guoh, and XaunagK) I went out at the falls of 
PenKeoHfock, alias York River in J^rginia , from 
an Indian Village called Shickehamang, and lay 
that night in the woods, eucountring nothing- 
remarkable, but a Rattle snake ot extraordi- 
nary size and thicknefs, for I judged it two 
yards and a half and better from head to tail, 
and as big about as a man's arm ; by the dis- 
tention of her belly we believed her full with 
young, but having killed and opened her found 
there a small squirrel whole ; which caused in 
me a double wonder : first, how a Reptile should 
catch so nimble a creature as a squirrel, and 
having caught it, how could she swallow it 
entire. The Indians in resolving my doubts, 
plunged me into a greater astonilhment, when 
they told me it was usual with thefe ferpents when 



From Virginia through the Carolinas. 15 

thev lie baskinfr in the fun. to fetch down thefe 
squirrels from the top? of the trees, by fixing 
their eyes steadfastly upon them, the horrour of 
which ftrikes fuch an affrightment into the 
httle beaft that he has no power to hinder him- 
self from tumbling down into the jaws of his 
enemy, who takes in all his fuftenance without 
chewiue;, his teeth serving him only to offend 
withal. But I rather beUeve what I have 
heard from others, that thefe Serpents climb the 
trees and furprife their prey in the nest. 

The next day falling into Marish grounds be- 
tween Pemwoncock and the head of the River 
Matapeneugh, the heavineff of the way obliged 
me to crofl Peimponcock, where its North and 
South branch (called Ackmick) joyn in one. In 
the Peninsula made by thefe two branches, a 
great Indian King called Tottopotoma was here- 
tofore ilain in Battel, fighting for the Christians 
against the Mahocks and XahyJ/'ans. from which 
it retains his name to this day. Travelling 
thorow the Woods, a Doe seized by a wild Cat 
croffed our way : the miferaV.le creature being 
even fpent and breathleff with the burden and 
cruelty of her rider, who having fafteued on her 
(houlder, left not fucking out her bloud until fhe 
funk under him : which one of the Indians per- 
ceiving, let flie a luckie Arrow, which piercing 
him thorow the belly, made him (juit his prey 
already Ilain, and turn with a terrible grimas at 



I/J 



16 John Lederer's Journey 

us : but his fti-eugth and spirits failing him we 
efcaped his revenge, which had certainly ensued, 
were not his wound mortal. This creature is 
somethins: bicrofer than our English Fox of a 
reddish ffrev colour, and in tiffure everv wav 
agreeing with an ordinary cat. tierce, ravenous 
and cunning: for tinding the Deer (upon which 
they dehght moft to prey) too swift for them, 
thev watch upon branches of trees, and as they 
walk or feed under, jump down upon them. 
The Fur of the wilde Cat. though not very line, 
is yet esteemed for its virtues in taking away 
cold Aches and Pains, being worn next to the 
body : theii- flelh. though rank as a dogs, is 
eaten by the Indians. 

The eleventh and twelfth I found the ways 
very uneven, and cumbered with Ijullies. 

The thirteenth I reached the firft fpring of 
Penutoncoik. having croffed the River four 
times that day. by reafon of its many windings ; 
but the water was so iTiallow. that it hardly wet 
my horfe's posterns. Here a little under the 
furface of the earth I found flat pieces of petri- 
fied matter, of one side folid ftone. but on the 
other side isinglass, which I eafdy peeled off in 
flakes about four inches fquare : several of thefe 
pieces, with a transparent ftonelike crystal that 
cut glaff, and a white Marchafite that I pur- 
chafed of the Indians. I prefented to Sir ^Vi/- 
liani Berkeley, Governor of Ylrginui. ; 



From Virgima tkrovf^h the Carolina^. 17 

The fourteenth of Man-h from the top of 
an eminent hill. I first defcried the Apalataan 
Mountains, bearing due Weft to the place I 
flood upon: their diftance from me was so 
srreat that I could hardlv difcern whether thev 
were Mountains or clouds, until my Indian 
fellow travellers proftrating themfelves in addor- 
ation. howled out after a barbarous manner. 
Ok'<ep<fze. i. e.. God i.< mgh. 

The fifteenth of March, not far from this hill, 
paffino: over the South branch of Rapdhanook 
River. I was akuoft fwallowed in a Quickfand. 
Great herds of Red and Fallow Deer I daily 
faw feeding : and on the hillfides. Bears crash- 
ing Mast like Swine. Small Leopards I have 
feen in the woods, but never any Lions, though 
their fkins are much worn by the Indians. The 
wolves in thefe parts are so ravenous that I 
often in the night feared that my horfe woidd be 
devoured by them, they would gather up and 
howl so clofe roimd about him. though tetherd 
to the same tree at whofe foot I myfelf and the 
Indians lay. but the Fires which we made. 
I fuppofe. feared them from worrying us all. 
Beaver and Otter I met with at every 
river that I pafTed : and the woods are fiiU of 
CTev Foxes. 

Thus I travelled all the lixteenth ; and on the 
feventeenth of March I reached the Apflafai. 
The Air here is very thick and chill : and the 
4 



IS John Lederer's Journey 

water? iiTuing from the Mountam fides, of a 
Blue colour, and Allumiili tafte. 

The eighteenth of March, after I had in rain 
allayed to ride up. I alighted, and left my horfe 
with one of the Indians, whillt with the other 
two I cUmbed up the Rocks and. which were so 
incumbered with bulhes and brambles, that the 
afeent proved very difficult : befides the preci- 
pice was so fteep that if I lookt down I was 
immediately taken with a fwimming in my 
head, though afterward the way was more 
easie. The height of this mountain was veiy 
extraordinary, for notwithftanding I fet out with 
the first apfiearance of hght. it was late in the 
evening before I gained the top. from whence 
the next morning I had a beautiful prospect of 
the AUantif-k Ocean walhing the Virginia ihore : 
but to the Xorth and Weft my sight was fud- 
denhr bounded by mountains higher than that I 
ftoc»d upon. Here did I wander in Ihow. for the 
moft part, till the fbtir and twentieth day of 
March, hoping to finde fome palTage through the 
mountains, but the coldnelT of the air and earth 
together, feizing my hands and Feet with numb- 
neiT. put me to a ne phis ultra : and therefore 
having found my Indian at the foot of the 
Mountain with my Horfe, I returned back by 
the fame iray that I vcent. 




The Second Expedition 

From the Falb of PoKkatom. alias Jame/f Birer. 
in Tlrffimia. to Mohod: in the Apahdaem 
Mountains. 

The twentieth of J/ ' ilajor 

Harr'i* and myself. ^^ :.- : ti^-; ' 
Horie and five h^ ' luaroiicxi n«>iu ti^-. . — ^ 

of Jame* Riter. i„ , \M\a. towards the Mot-o- 
km^. and on the two .and twentieth were wel- 
comed by them with volleys of Ihot. Near this 
Tillage we obfenred a pyramid of Itones piled up 
together, which their Friefts told us, was the 
number of an Imdian Cok»ny drawn out by Lot 
from a nei2:hbour-Countrey over-peopled and 
led hither by -r.^ .V"nael: from whom they take 
the name of -'. «. Here enquiring the way 

to the mountains, an ancient Man defcribed with 
a staffe two ftaths on the ground : one pointing 
to the yi'ikotif. and the other to the XoA*if<ttu : 
but mv F ' " Companions flighting the In- 
dians direct :<.'-i. fnaped their courieby thcc'-tn- 



20 fJdhn Lcderer's. Jounaii 

paff due West ; and therefore it fell out with us, 
as it does with thofe Sand Crabs, that crawliuo- 
backwards in a direct line, avoid not the trees 
that ftand in their way, but climbing over their 
very tops, come down again on the other fide, 
and so after a day's laboui- gain not above two 
foot of ground. Thus we obftinately purfuing 
a due West courfe, rode over fleep and craggy 
Cliffs, which beat our horfes quite off the hoof 
In thefe mountains we wandered from the 
Twenty-fifth of May till the third of June, 
finding very little fustenance for Man or Horfe : 
for thefe places are deftitute both of Grain and 
Herbage. 

The third of June we came to the South 
branch of James River wdiich Major Harris 
obferving to run Northward, vainly imagined 
to be an arm of the Lake of Canada ; and 
w^as so tranfported with this Fancy, that he 
would have raised a Pillar to the difcovery 
if the fear of the Mahoek Indian, and Avant 
of food, had permitted him to ftay. Here 
I moved to crolf the river and march on ; but 
the reit of the company were so weary of the 
enterprize, that crying out One and All, they 
had offered violence to me, had T not been pro- 
vided with a .private commiffion from the Gov- 
ernor of Vlrf/inla to proceed, though the rest ot 
the com])any (hould abandon me ; the fight of 
which laid their fury. 



Front y'nil'ni'iii fhroxflh tlw ('(IVolbiaH. 21 

The lelfer Hills or Akoiif/Iiuck, are here uu- 
jialtable, beiii<>- both iteep and craggy. The 
rocks feeinod to me at a diflance to refeinble 
eggs i'et u)) dm end. 

.James Riv'er is here as broad as it is aI)Out an 
hundred mile lower at Monakbi, the palHige 
over is very dangei'ous, by reafon of the rapid 
Torrents made by Rocks and flielves foroinii- the 
water into narrow Channels. From an ()l)lerva- 
tion which we made of ftraws and rotten 
chuncks hanging in boughs of trees on the bank, 
and two and twenty foot above water, we 
argued that the melted fnow falling from the 
Mountains Iwelled the River to that height, the 
Flood carrying down that rubbiOi which, u]ion 
the abatement of the inundation, remained in 
the Trees. 

The Air in thefe parts were so moift that all our 
Bifcuit became mouldy and unfit to be eaten, so 
that fome nicer Itomachs, who at our fetting out 
laughed at my i)rovirion of Ind'KDi meal 
parched, would gladly now have Ihai-ed with 
me, but I being determined to go u]ion fuither 
Difcoveries refufed to part with any of that 
which was to he my moft neccjpivij fnjienance. 



22 John Lederer^s Journe}/ 

The Continuat'ton of the Second Expedition 
/"rowi Mahock, Southward, into the Province of 
Carolina. 

The fifth ut June, my company and I parted 
good friends, they back agaiu, and I with one 
Scifquefahanough Indian, named Jackzetavon, 
only, in purfuit of my first enterprize, changing 
my courfe from Weft to South-weft and by 
South, to avoid the mountains. Major Harris 
at parting gave me a Gun, believing me a lolt 
man, and given up as a prey to Indians or fav- 
age beafts ; which made him the bolder in T7r- 
ghila to report ftrange things in his own praise 
and my difparagement, prefuming I would never 
return to difprove him. This, I fuppose, and no 
other, was the caufe that he did with so much 
industry procure me difcredit and odium ; but I 
have loft nothing by it, but what I never ftudied 
to gain, which is popular Applause. 

From the fifth, which was Sunday until the 
ninth of June, I travelled through different 
Ways, without feeing any Town or Indian ; and 
then I arrived at Sapon, a village of the XaJn/f- 
fans, about an hundred miles diftant from 
Mahock, fituate upon a branch of Shaivan, alias 
Rorenock River ; and though I had just caufe to 
fear thefe Indians, becaufe they had been in 
continual hoftility with the Chrljilans for ten 
years before ; yet jtrcruming that the truck 



From ll.r(/i?iia fhrotu/h tlw Cdrol'inds. 23 

wliicli I carried with me would ])rocure my 
welcome, I adventured to put niyfelf'iuto their 
power, haviiio; heard that they Jievei- offer any 
iujury to a few perfons from whom they appre- 
hend no (hinger; nevertheleff they examined 
me ftrictly whence I came, whither I \\ cut, and 
what my bufmeff was. But after 1 had beftowed 
fome trifles of Glaff and Metal amongft them, 
they were fatisfied with reasonable aiifwers, and 
I received with all imai;inable denionftrations of 
kindneff, as ottei-ing' of facritice. a com])liment 
(hewed only to fuch as they defign i)articularly 
to lioiiour: but they went further, and confulted 
their Godds whether they ("hould not adiiiit me 
into their Nation and Councils, and oblige me to 
ftay amongft them l)y a Marriage with the 
King^ or fome of theii' gi-eat Mens Daughters. 
But I, thougli with much ado, waved their 
courtefie, and got my Paftport, having given my 
word to retui-nto them within llx months. 

Siipoii is within the hmits of the Province of 
Carolina, and as you may perceive by the 
Figure, has all the attributes re(|uisite to a 
pleasant and advantageous feat : tor though it 
ftands high, and upon dry laud, it enjoyes the 
benefit of a ftately River, and a rich Soyl. capa- 
ble of producing a great many coniinodities, 
Avhich may hereafter render the tiiuN'of it con- 
rideral)le. 

Not far diftant from hence, as T nnderftand 



24 Jolm Lederevf^ Journey 

from the Naliyjfan Indians, is their King's Refi- 
dence, called Pinkihi .xv^ow the fame River, and 
happy in the fame advantages l)oth for pleafure 
and profit ; which my curiolity would have led 
me to fee, were I not bound both by Oath and 
Commiffion to a direct purfuance of my in- 
tended purpofe of difcovering a paffage to the 
further lide of the Mountains. 

This Nation is governed by an absolute Mon- 
arch ; the people of a high ftature, warlike and 
rich. I faw great ftore of Pearl unbored in 
their little Temples and Oratories, which they 
had won amongfl other fpoils from the Indians 
of Florida, and hold in as great efteem as w^e 
do. 

From hence, by the Indians' inftructions, I 
directed my courfe to Akenatzy, an Island bear- 
ing South and by Weft, and about fifty miles 
diflant, upon a branch of the fame River, from 
Sapon. The countrey here, though high, is 
level, and for the moft part a rich Soyl, as I 
judged by the growth of the trees ; yet where 
it is inhabited by Indians, it lies open in fpacious 
Plains, and is bleffed with a very healthlul Air, 
as appears by the age and vigour of the ])eo- 
ple; and though I travelled in the month of 
June, the heat of the w^eather hindered me not 
from Ridinc: at all hours without any great 
annoyance from the fun. By ealTe journeys I 
landed at Akenatzy upon the twelfth of June. 



From Virginia through the Carolinas. 25 

The current of the river is here so ftroiig, that 
my Horfe liad much dithculty to rcfist it, and I 
expected every flep to be carried away with the 
ftream. 

This Ifland, though fmall. maintains many in- 
habitants, who are fix'd here in great fecurity, 
being naturally fortified with Faftncffcs of moun- 
tains, and water on every fide. Upon the 
North fliore they yearly reap great crops of 
corn, of which they always have a twelve- 
month Provifion aforehand, againfk an inyafion 
from their powerful Neighbours. Their Govern- 
ment is under two Kings, one preliding in Arms, 
the other in Hunting and Husbandrv. Thev 
hold all things, except their wives, in conmion : 
and their cuftome in eating is, that every man in- 
his turn, feasts all the reft : and he that makes 
the entertainment is feated betwixt the two 
Kings ; where higely commending his own 
chear thev carve and diftribute it amongft the 
guefls. 

At my arrival here I met four ftranger Indians, 

whofe bodies were painted in various colours 

with figures of Animals whofe likeneff I had 

never feen, and by fome difcourfe and fignes 

which paffed between us, I gathered that they 

were the only furvivours of fifty, who fet out 

together in com])any from fome great Ifland, as 

I conjecture, in the Northweft, for I undcrftood 

that they croffed a areat Water, in which molt 
5 * 



26 John Lederer's Journey 

of their party perilTied by tempeft, the reft 
dyiii2: iu the Mariflies and Mountains by famine 
and hard weather, after a two-months travel by 
Land and Water in quest of this Ifland of 
Akenaizy. 

The moft reafonable conjecture that I can 
frame out of this Relation, is, that thefe Indians 
might come from the Ifland of new Albion or 
California, from whence we may imagine fome 
great arm of the Indian Ocean or Ba}" ftretches 
into the Continent towards the ApalaUen Moun- 
tains iu the nature of a mid-land Sea, in which 
many of thefe Indians might have periftied. To 
confirm my opinion in this point, I have heard 
feveral Indians teftifie, that the Nation of liicka- 
■hoekons, Avho dwell not far to the Weftward of 
the Apalafan Mountains, are feated upon a 
Land, as they term it, of great Waves, by which 
I fuppofe they mean the Sea-fliore. 

The next day after my arrival at Akenatzy, a 
Rickaliockan Ambaffadour, attended by five 
Indians, whofe ftvces were coloured Awripigmen- 
tum (in which Mineral thefe parts do much 
abound) was received, and that night invited to 
a Ball of their fafliion ; but in the height of 
their mirth and dancing by a fmoke contrived 
for that purpofe, the Room Avas fuddenly dark- 
ened, and for what cause I know not, the liirk- 
ahoekan and his retinue barbarously murthered. 
This ftruck me with fuch an aifrightment, that 



From yirgmia through the Carolinas. 27 

the very next clav, without takiiic" niv leave of 
them, I flunk away with my Indian companion. 
Though the defire of informing myfelf further 
concerning fome minerals, as Aurip^gmentiim, 
&c., which I there took fpecial notice of, -would 
have perfuaded me to flay longer amongft them, 
had not the bloody example of their treachery 
to the Rickoho<'k(ni.'< frighted me away. 

The fourteenth of June, purfuing a South 
southweft courfe, fometimes by a beaten path 
and fometimes over hills and rocks, I was forc'd 
to take up my quarters in the "Woods : for 
though the Oenock Indians, whom I then 
fought, were not in a direct line above thirty 
odde miles diftant from Akenatzg, yet the ways 
were fuch, and obliged me to go so far about, 
that I reached Oenock until the fixteenth. 
The country here, by the industry of these 
Indians, is very open and clear of wood. Their 
Town is built round a field, where in their 
Sports they exercife with so much labour and 
violence, and in so great numbers, that 1 have 
feen the ground wet with the fweat that drojiped 
from their bodies; their chief recreation is fling- 
ing of floues. They are of mean ftature and 
courage, covetous and thievifli, induftrious to 
earn a peny, and therefore hire themfelves out 
to their neighbors, who employ them as 
Carryers or Porters. They plant abundance 
of Grain, reap thre€ crops in a fummer, 



28 Jolin Lederers Journey 

and out of their Granary fupply all the 
adjacent parts. Thefe and the Mountain In- 
dians build not their houfes of bark, but of 
"VVatliuo- and Plaister. In Summer the heat of 
the weather makes them chufe to lie abroad in 
the night under thin arbours of wilde Palm. 
Some houfes they have of Reed and Bark ; they 
build them generally round : to each houfe be- 
longs a little hovel made like an oven, where 
they lay up their Corn and Mali, and keep it 
dry. They parch their Nuts and Acorns over 
the fire to take away their rank Oylineff, which 
afterwards preffed, yield a milky liquor, and the 
Acorns an Amber colour'd Oyl. In thefe min- 
gled together, they dip their Cakes at great en- 
tertainments, and so serve them up to their 
guefts as an extraordinary dainty. Their Gov- 
ernment is Democratick ; and the Sentences of 
their old men are received as Laws, or rather 
Oracles, by them. 

Fourteen miles Weft Southweft of the 
Oenocks dwell the Shackovy Indians, upon a 
rich Soyl, and yet abounding in Antimony, of 
which they fliewed me confiderable quantities. 
Findino- them ao;ree with the Oenocks in Cus- 
toms and ]\Ianners I made no flay here, but 
paffmg thorow their tOAvn I travelled till the 
nineteenth of June; then after a two days 
troublefome journey thorow thickets and 
Marilli grounds I arrived at Waiary above 



From Virginia through the Carolina^. 29 

fourty miles diftant, and bearing- Weft South- 
weft to Shakor. This Nation ditit'ers in Govern- 
ment from all the other Indians of thefe parts ; 
for they are flaves rather then fiibjects to their 
King. Their prefent Monarch is a grave man. 
and com"teous to ftrangers : vet I could not 
without horrour behold his barbarous fuperfti- 
tion, in hiring three youths and fending them 
forth to kill as many young women of their 
enemies as they could light on, to ferve his Ton, 
then newly dead, in the other world, as he 
vainlv fancyed. Thefe youths during my ftay 
returned with fkins torn off the heads and faces 
of three young girls, which they prefented to 
his Majeftie, and were by him gratefully re- 
ceived. 

I departed from Watary the one and twen- 
tieth of June, and keeping a Weft courfe for 
near thirty miles, I came to Sara : here I found 
the ways more level and eafie. Sara is not far 
diftant from the Mountains, which hei"e lofe 
their height, and change their courfe and name; 
for they run due Weft, and receive from the 
Spaniards the name of Suahi. From thefe 
Mountains or Hills the Indians draw great 
quantities of Cinabar, with which beaten to 
powder they colour their faces; this Mineral is 
of a deeper purple than A^ermilion, and is the 
fame which is in so much eftccm amongft Phyfi- 
tians, being the firft clement of (^uicklilver. 



30 John Lederer's Journey 

I did likewife, to my no fniall admiratiou, 
liud hard cakes of white Salt ainoiiglt them, 
but whether tliey Avere made of Sea water or 
taken out of Salt pits I know not, but am apt to 
believe the later, becaufe the fea is so remote 
from them. 

Many other rich Commodities and minerals 
there are undoubtedly in these parts, which if 
poffelfed by an ingenious and iuduftrious people 
would be improved to vafl advantages by Trade. 
But having tied myself up to things onely that I 
have feen in my Travels, I will deliver no con- 
jectures. 

Lmf/ua sile non ejl ultra narrahUe quidquam. 
Thefe Indians are so indifcreetly fond of theii- 
children that they will not chaftise them for 
any mifchief or infoleuce. A little Boy had fhot 
an Arrow thorow my Body had I not recon- 
ciled him to me with gifts ; and all this auger 
was becaufe I fpurred my horfe out of another 
Arrow's way which he directed at him. This 
Caufed fuch a mutiny amongst the Youth of the 
Town, that the Seniors taking my horfe and felf 
into protection, had much ado (and that by en- 
treaties and prayers, not commands) to appeafe 
them. 

From Sara I kept a South Southweft courfe 
until the five and twentieth of Jane, and then I 
reached Wi/acki/. This three days march was 
more troublefome to me then all my travels be- 



From Virginia through the Carolinas. 31 

fides; for the direct way which I took from 
Sara to Wi/ackij is over a continued ^larifh 
overgrown with Reeds, from whofe roots fprung 
knotty ftumps as hard and fharp as FHnt. I was 
forced to lead my horfc moft part of the way, 
and wonder that he was not either phniged in 
the Bogs, or lamed bv thofe rugired knots. 

This Nation is fnbjcct to a neighbour King 
refiding upon the bank of a great Lake called 
TJJJiery, invironed of all sides with Mountains, 
and Wi/acky Marifli : and therefore I will detain 
the Reader no longer with the difcourfe of them, 
because I comprehend them in that of UJltenj. 

The six and twentieth of June, having croffed 
a frefh River, which runs into the Lake of 
JJJljery, I came to the Town. Avhich was 
more populous then any I had feen before in 
my March. The King dwells some three miles 
from it. and therefore I had no opportunity oi* 
feeing him the two nights which T flayed there. 
This Prince, though his dominions are large and 
populous, is in continual fear of the Onjidck 
Lidians feated on the oppofite fide of the Lake ; 
a people so addicted to Arms that even their 
women come into the field and flioot Arrows 
over their husbands fhoulders, who fhield them 
with Leathern targets. The men it feems (hould 
fight with Silver Hatchets: for one of the ?_///- 
erers told me they Avcre of the fome metal with 
the Pomel of my fword. They are a cruel gen- 
eration, and prey upon people, whom they either 



32 John Lederer's Journey 

fteal, or force away from the U/Jieryes in Peri- 
ar/ois, to facrifice to their Idols. 

The JJ/Jiery women delight much in feather 
ornaments, of which they have great variety; 
but Peacocks in moft efteem, becaufe rare in 
thofe parts. They are reafonably handfome, and 
have more of civility in their carriage then I 
obferved in the other Nations with whom I con- 
verfed ; which is the reafon the men are more 
effeminate and lazie. 

Thefe mifcrable wretches are ftranoelv iufat- 
uated with illufions of the devil ; it caufed no 
fmall horrour in me to fee one of them wrythe 
his neck all on one fide, foam at the mouth, (land 
barefoot upon burning coals for near an hour, 
and then recovering his fenfes, leap out of the 
fire without hurt, or figne of any. This I was 
an eye-witneff of. 

The water of TJJJiery Lake feemed to my 
taste a little brackilh, which I rather impute to 
fome Mineral waters which flow into it, then to 
any saltneff it can take from the Sea, which we 
may reafonably fuppofe is a great way from it. 
Many pleafant Rivulets fall into it, and it is 
ftored with great plenty of excellent fifh. I 

judged it to be about ten leagues broad : for ^ 

were not the othei* fhore very high, it could not .'- {\^^v 

be difcerned from VJJtery. How far this Lake 
tends Wefterly, or where it ends, T coidd neither 
learn or o-ucss. ■ X ^ 






Fi'om Virginia through the Carolinus. 33 

Here I made a day's flay, to inform myfelf 
further in thefe Countries ; and underftood both 
from the UJJieries, and fome Sara Indians that 
came to trade with them, that two days journey 
and a half from hence to the Southwefl, a pow- 
erful Xatiou of Bearded meu were feated, which 
I fui)pofe to be the Spaniards, becaufe the In- 
dians never have any ; it being a univerfal cus- 
tom amongfl them to i)revent their growth, by 
plucking the young hair out by the roots. 
AVeltward lies a Government inhofpitable of 
flraugers, and to the North, o\qv the Suala 
mountains lay the Rickohockans. I thought it 
not fafe to venture myfelf amongft the Span- 
iards, left taking me for a fpy they would either 
make me away, or condemn me to a perpetual 
flavery in their Mines. Therefore not thinking 
fit to proceed further, the eight and twentieth of 
June I faced about and looked homeward. 

To avoid Wisacky Marifli I fhaped my courfe 
Northeaft, and after three days travel over hilly 
ways, where I met with no path or road, I fell 
into a barren Sandy defert. where I fuffered 
miferably for want of water : the heat of the 
Summer having drunk all the Springs dry. and 
left no figne of any, but the gravelly chanels 
in which they run; so that if now and then I. 
had not found a ftanding Pool, which provident 
Nature fet round with Ihady Oaks, to defend it 
from the ardour of the fun, my Indian compan- 



34 John Lederer's Journey 

iou. horfe aud felf had certaiuly perifhed with 
thirft. lu this dil'treff we travelled till the 
twelfth of July and then found the head of a 
River, which afterward proved Eruco: in which 
we received not only the comfort of a necelTary 
and feafonable refrelliment, but likewife the 
hopes of coming into a country again where 
we might finde Game for food at least, if not 
difcover fome new Nation or people. Xor did 
our hopes fail us ; for after we had croffed the 
River twice, we were led by it upon the four- 
teenth of July to the Town of Katearas, a place 
of great Indian Trade and Commerce, aud chief 
feat of the haughty Emperour of the To/kiroros, 
called Ra/kit/ara, vulgarly Ra/kous. His grim 
Majeftie. upon my firft appearance, demanded 
mv Gun and Shot, which I willinolv parted with 
to ranfom myself out of his clutches; for he 
was the moft proud imperious Barbarian that I 
met with in all my Marches. The people here at 
this time feemed prepared for some extraordi- 
narv Solemuitv : for the men and the women of 
better fort had decked themfelves very fine 
with pieces of bright copper in their hair and 
ears, and about their arms and neck, which 
upon Feftival occafions they ufe as an extraordi- 
nary bravery, by which it fhould feem this 
Country is not Avithout rich Mines of Copper. 
But I durft not ftay to inform myfelf further in 
it, being jealous of fome fudden mifchief to- 



From Yirg'inia through, the CaroUnas. 35 

wards me from Ka/kous, his nature being 
bloudy. and provoked upon any flight occafion. 
Therefore leaving Katearas, I travelled 
through the Woods until the fixteenth. upon 
which I came to Kaw'itziokan, an Indian town 
upon a branch of Rorenoke river, which here I 
pafl'ed over, continuing my journey to Mencha- 
r'lnck. and on the feventeenth departing from 
thence I lay all night in the Woods, and the 
next morning, betimes, going by Xaioiray. I 
reached that evening Ajmmafuck in Virginia, 
where I was not a Uttle overjoyed to fee Chrif- 
tian faces asain. 




The Third and Laft Expedition, 

From the Falls of Rappalianock River in yir- 
ginia, (due Weft) to the top of the Apalatcen 
Mountains. 

/^N the twentieth of Auguji, 1670, Col. Cat- 
^^ lei, of Virginia and myfelf, with nine 
Englifh Horfe, and five Indians on foot, departed 
from the houfe of one Robert Talifer, and that 
night reached the falls of Rappalianock river, in 
Indian Mantepeuck: 

The next day w'e paffed it over v\diere it di- 
vides into two branches North and South, keep- 
ing the main branch North of us. 

The three and twentieth we found it so (hal- 
low, that it onely wet our horfes hoofs. 

The four and twentieth we travelled thorow 
the Savanxt amongft vaft herds of Red and 
Fallow Deer which ftood gazing at us ; and a 
little after we came to the promontories or Spurs 
of the Apalatcen Mountains. 



From Yircjhiia throwjli the CaroUnas. 37 

Thefe Savana> arc low grouncls at tlie foot of 
the A2)aIatopns. wliich all the Winter, Spring, and 
part of Summer, lie under fnow or water, when 
the fnow is diffolved, which falls down from the 
Mountains commonly about the beginning of 
June; and then their verdure is wonderful pleas- 
ant to the eye, efpecially of fuch as having trav- 
elled through the (hade of the vaft Foi-eft, come 
out of a melancholy darkneff of a fudden, into a 
clear and open f kie. 

To heighten the beauty of thefe parts the firft 
Springs of moft of thofe great Rivers which run 
into the Aflantlck ocean, or CJie/eapeack Bay, do 
here break out, and in various branches inter- 
lace the flowry !Meads. whofe luxurious herbage 
invites numerous hei'ds of Red Deer (for their 
unufual largeneff improi)erly termed Elks by 
ignorant people) to feed. The right Elk, though 
very common in Xew Scotland, Canada, and 
thofe Northern ])arts, is never feen on this tide 
of the Continent : for that which the Yivffinians 
call Elks, does not at all differ from the Red 
Deer of Europe, but in his dimenfions, which are 
far greater : but yet the Elk in bigneff does not 
far exceed them : their heads or horns are not 
very different; but the neck of the Elk is so 
fliort that it hardly feparates the head from the 
fhoidders; Avhich is the reafon that they cannot 
feed upon level ground but l»y falling on their 
knees, though their heads be a yard long ; 



38 John Lederer's Journey 

therefore they commonly either broufe upon 
trees, or ftanding up to the belly in ponds or 
rivers feed upon the banks ; their Cingles or tails 
are hardly three inches long. I have been told 
by a Neio England gentleman that the lips and. 
uoftrils of this creatnre is the moft delicious 
meat he ever tafted. As for the Red Deer we 
here treat of, I cannot difference the tafte of 
their flefli from thofe in Europe. 

The llxth and twentieth oX AiKjuJl we came to 
the ^Mountains, where finding no horfe-way np, 
we alighted, and left our horfes with two or 
three Indians below, whilft we went up afoot. 
The afcent was so fteep, the cold so intense, and 
we so tired, that having with much ado gained 
the top of one of the higheft, we drank the 
Kino's health in Brandv, gave the Mountain his 
name, and agreed to return back again, having 
no encouragement from that profpect to proceed 
to a further difcovery ; fince from hence we faw 
another Mountain, bearing North and by Wefi; 
to us, of a ])rodigious height ; for according to 
an obfervation of the diftance taken by Col. 
Catlet, it could not be leff than iilty leagues from 
the place we ftood upon. 

Here was I ftung in my fleep by a Mountain 
fpider ; and had not an Indian suckt out the 
poyfon I had died, for receiving the hurt at the 
tip of one of my fingers, the venome fhot up im- 
mediately into my fhoulder, and so inflamed my 



From Yirgmia through the Carol'inas. 39 

lide that it is not poffible to expreff my torment. 
The means ufcd l)y my ph^iician, was firft a 
fmall dofe of fnakc-root powder, Avhich I took 
in a Uttle water ; and then making a kinde of 
Phiifter of the lame, ai)i)lied it neer to the part 
af!ected : when he had done so, he fwalloed fome 
by way of Anti(h)te liimfelf, and fuckt my fingei-'s 
end so violently that I felt the venome retire 
back from my lide into my fhoidder. and from 
thence down my arm ; having thus fucked half a 
fcore of times, and fpit as often. I was eased of 
all my pain, and perfectly recovered. I thought 
I had been bit by a Kattlefnake, for I saw not 
what hurt me; but the Indian found by the 
wound, and the effects of it, that it was given by 
a fpider, one of which he fhewed me the next 
day : it is not unlike our great blue fpider, only 
it is fomewhat longer. 1 suppose the nature of 
his poysen to be much like that of the iaran- 
tnhi. 

I being thus beyond my hopes and expectation 
reftored to myself, we unanimously agreed to 
return back, seeing no poffibiiity of passing 
through the Mountains, and tinding our Indians 
with our horses in the place where we left them, 
we rode homeward without making any further 
discovery. 



40 John Lederer^s Journey 

Conjectures of the Land Beyond 
the Apalataen Mountains. 

They are certainly in a great erroiir, who imag- 
ine that the Continent of North America is but 
eight or ten days journey over from the Atlantick 
to the Indian Ocean, which all reasonable men 
muft acknowledge, if they consider that Sir 
Francis Drake kept a West Northwest course 
from Cape Mendocino to California. Neverthe- 
less, by Avhat I gathered from the flranger Indians 
at Akenatzy of their Voyage by Sea to the very 
mountains from a far distant Northwest Coun- 
try, I am brought over to their opinion who think 
that the Indian Ocean does stretch an Arm or 
Bay from Calif or nia into the Continent as far as 
the Apalatan ^lountaius, anfwerable to the 
Gulfs of Florida and Mexico on this fide. Yet I 
am far from beheving with fome that fuch great 
and Navigable Rivers are to be found on the 
other fide the Apalutcens falling into the Indian 
Ocean, as those which run from them to the 
Eaftward. My firfl reafon is derived from the 
knowledge and experience we already have of 
South Ame7'ica, whose Andes send the greatest 
Rivers in the world (as the A?nazones and Eio 
de la Plata, &c.,) into the Atlantick, but none at 
all into the Pacifique Sea. Another argument 



From Virginia through the CaroUnas. 41 

is that all our water-fowl which delight in Lakes 
and Rivers, as Swans, Geefe, Ducks, &c., come 
over the Mountains from the Lake of Caivtda, 
wlien it is frozen over every winter, to our frefh 
Rivers which they would never do, could they 
finde any on the other fide of the Apalatcens. 



Inltructions to fuch as Ihall march upon Dicov- 
eries into the North American Continent. 

' I "WO breaches there are in the Apalatcen 
-^ ISIountains, opening a paffage into the 
Weftern parts of the Continent. One, as I am 
informed by Indians, at a place called Zgnocloa, 
to the Norward : the other at Sara, where I have 
been myfelf, but the Avay thither being thorow a 
vaft Foreft, where you feldom fall into any 
Road or Path, you mult fhape your courfe by 
a Compass ; though fome, for want of one, -have 
taken their direction from the North fide of the 
trees which is diflinguifhed from the reft by 
quantities of thick moss growing there. You 
will not meet with many hindrances on horfe- 
back in your passage to the Mountains, but 
where your courfe is interrupted by branches of 
the great Rivers, which in many places arc not 
Fordable ; and therefore if you be unprovided of 
means or ftrength to nuike a bridge by felling 
trees across, you may be forced to go a great 



-12 John Lederer^s Journey 

way about; in this refpect company is neces- 
sary, but in others so inconvenient that I would 
not advise above half a dozen, or ten at the 
molt, to travel together; and of these the 
major part Indians; for the Nations inyoui- way 
are prone to jealoufie and mischief towards 
Chriftians in a considerable Body, and as courte- 
ous and hearty to a few, from ^vhom they apjire- 
hend no danger. 

When you paff thorow an even, level country, 
where you can take no particular remarks from 
hill or waters to guide yourfolf by when you 
come back, you mult not forget to notch the 
trees as you go along with your hnall hatchet, 
that in your return you may know when you 
fall into the same way which you went. By this 
means you will be certain of the place you are 
in, and may govern your courfe homeward ac- 
cordingly. 

In (lead of Bread I ufed the meal of parched 

Mcii/z, i. e. Indian Wheat, which when I eat, I 

feafoned with a little Salt. This is both more 

portable and flrengthning than ]5ifcuit, and will 

fuffer no mouldiness by any Aveather. For other 

provifions you may fecurely truft to your Gun, 

the Woods being full of Fallow, and Savance of 

Red Deer, besides great variety of excellent 

Fowl, as wild Turkeys, Pigeons, Partridges, 

Pheafants, &c. But you muft not forget to dry or 

barbecue fome of thefe before you come to the 



Pi^om Yirg'inia through the Carolina!^. 43 

Mountains, for upon them you will meet with 
no Game, except a few Bears. 

Such as cannot He on the ground, niuft be 
provided with Ught Ilamacks, wliieh hung in 
the trees, are more cool and pleafant then any 
bed whatfoever. 

The Order and Difeipline to be obferved in 
this Expedition is, that an Indian fcout or tAvo 
march as far before the reft of the company as 
they can in fight, both for the finding out pro- 
vifion and difcovery of Ambufhes if any 
fhould be laid by Enemies. Let your other 
Indians keep on the right and left hand, armed 
not onely with Guns, but Bills and Hatchets, to 
build fraall Arbours or Cottages of boughs and 
bark of trees to Ihelter and defend yon from 
the injuries of the weather. At nights it is ne- 
ceffory to make great Fires round about the 
place where you take up your lodging, as well 
to fcarc Wilde Beafts away as to purifie the 
air. Neither must you fail to go the Bound at 
the close of the evening, for then and betimes in 
the morning, the Indians put all their designes 
in execution : in the night they never attempt 
anything. 

When in the remote parts you draw near to an 
Indian Town you muft by your fcouts inform 
yourself whether they hold any correfiiondcnce 
with the Sfi/(jii('/(th(in(iufjhs .• for to fuch you 
mulf give notice of your approach by a Gun ; 



44 John Lederev's Journey 

which amongft other Indians is to be avoided, 
becaufe being- ignorant of their nfe, it would 
affright and difpose them to foiue treacherous 
practice againft yon. 

Being arrived at a Town, enter no houfe until 
vou are invited, and then feem not afraid to be 
led in pinion'd like a prifoner ; for that is a Cere- 
mony they use to friends and enemies without 
distinction. 

You muft accept of an invitation from the 
Seniors before that of young men, and relufe 
nothing that is offered or fet afore you, for they 
are very jealous and fenfible of the leaf! flighting 
or neglect from ftrangers, and mindful of Re- 
venge. 



"^'4.f 




Froyn Yirginia through the Carolinas. 45 



Touching Trade with Indians. 



TF you bareh' defigne a Home Trade with 
-*• neighbour Indians, for fkins of Deer, 
Beaver, Otter, Wild Cat, Fox, Racoon, &c., your 
beft truck is a fort of courfe Trading Cloth, of 
which a yard and a half makes a matchcoat or 
Mantle fit for their wear ; as also Axes, Hoes, 
Knives, Sizars, and all forts of edg'd tools, Guns, 
Powder and Shot, kc, are Commodities they 
will greedily barter for: but to fnpply the 
Indians with Arms and Ammunition is prohibi- 
ted in all Englilh Governments. 

In dealing with the Indians you mufl be posi- 
tive and at a word : for if they persuade you to 
fall anything in your price they will spend time 
in higgling for further abatements, and seldom 
conclude any Bargain. Sometimes you may 
with Brandy or Strong liquor difpose them to 
an humour of giving you ten times the value of 
your Commodities : and at other times they are 
so hide bound that they will not otfer half the 
Market price, efpccially if they be aware that 
you have a designe to circumvent them with 
drink, or that they think you have a desire to 



46 John Ledevers Journey 

their goods, which you mii(t feem to flight or 
difparage. 

1 To the remoter Indians you must carry other 
kind of truck, as fmall looking glaffes, Pictures, 
Beads and Bracelets of glaff, Knives, Sizars, and 
all manner of gaudy toys and knacks for chil- 
dren, which are light and portable. For they 
are apt to admire fuch trinkets, and will pur- 
chafe them at any rate, either with their cur- 
rant Coyn of fmall fhells, which they call Rocui- 
oack or Peack, or perhaps with Pearl, Vermilion, 
pieces of Chriftal, and towards JJ/Jiery, with 
fome odd pieces of Plate or Bullion, which they 
fometimes receive in Truck from the Oe/iacks^ 
Could I have forefeeu when I set out the ad- 
vantages to be made by a Trade with these re - 
mote Indians I had gone better provided : 
though perhaps I might have run a great haz- 
ard of my life had I purchased confiderably 
amongft them, by carrying wealth unguarded 
through so many different Nations of barbarous 
people ; therefore it is vain for any man to pro 
pofc to himself or undertake a trade at that 
diflance, unleff he goes with ftrength to defend 
as well as an Adventure to purchafe fuch com- 
modities ; for in fuch a defigne many ought to 
joyn and go in company. 

Some pieces of fdver unwrought I purchafed 
myself of the UJJiev'ies, for no other end then to 
jultitie this account I give of my Second Expe- 



From Virginia through the Cm-olinas. 47 

dition. which had uot detenniiied at UJJiery, 
were I accom])anied with half a fcore resohite 
youths that woukl have ftiick to me in a further 
discovery towards the Spauifh Mines. 



FIXIS. 




"mWK'^'^ 



LIBRARY OF 



CONGRESS 



014 367 047 8' 



